A/N: I have this story pretty much mapped out, but if you have an idea for a date (muggle or magical), let me know in a review and maybe I will sneak it in for you. This entire story was inspired by a very strange conversation I had with 89JadedPictures about what it would be like if Hermione took Draco ice-fishing in North Dakota. They don't end up making it to The States on this particular date, but the thought of Draco Malfoy ice-fishing was too good to pass up.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

What the fuck was Draco wearing? Why the hell did Hermione allow him to go to Cotswold Outdoor alone? Draco pretty much had two truisms in life – "more is better" and "the most expensive is always the best". Well, and "Malfoys always get what they want". Which she pointed out plainly wasn't a truism, because once upon a time the Malfoys hoped for the Dark Lord to win. To which Draco replied, "What my father really wanted was power; Voldemort was simply a means to an end." Semantics. But, seriously, what was Draco wearing?

Wait, maybe a modeling scout discovered Draco while shopping and signed him to a contract with North Face to wear their product line? She congratulated herself for hitting the nail on the head. Any other explanation beyond that as to why it appeared he was currently wearing £10,000 worth of their clothing and accessories was unfathomable. At this point, Hermione was willing to bet he was even wearing North Face underwear.

"I think you misunderstood. We aren't scaling Mount Everest."

"I know that. Do you see a Sherpa behind me?" Draco turned his head, looking behind his shoulder mockingly.

"Well, with the amount of gear you appear to be carrying in your backpack, I'm kind of surprised there isn't one." Oh gods, he wasn't thinking about bringing a disillusioned house elf along, was he?

"Isn't there some kind of Muggle saying about always being prepared?"

"Only because Muggles can't disapparate themselves out of dire situations."

"Am I allowed to disapparate myself out of this adventure?" he asked scathingly.

Hermione didn't really want to answer, because then she might have to concede a point to him. Unfortunately, a non-answer was as good as an answer.

"That's what I thought."

Hermione sighed. Could the man be any more smug? Well, yes. He could. She sighed again, deciding it would be best to just ignore the fact that no one needed so much stuff for an afternoon of ice fishing.

Hermione was very excited to take Draco ice fishing up in Scotland. It wasn't often a winter was cold enough for a lake to freeze over long and hard, so as to make the sport safe anywhere within the British Isles. Hermione remembered her dad and his fishing buddies gossiping and trading information year after year, in search of a spot to go out on the ice. Like all fishermen, they guarded their secrets carefully and maintained a network of people who were "in the know". There were many winters where an excursion never panned out. It was like they found the Holy Grail on the years when it happened.

Hermione's dad called her up a few days ago, excited to report he had just gotten back from a weekend trip up north, catching several good-sized fish while there. Did she want to come to dinner to partake in his bounty? Would Draco be joining her?

Somehow, dinner at her parents' home with Draco turned into Hermione and Draco going ice fishing on the same lake her father and his cronies fished last weekend. She borrowed her dad's shack, auger, tip ups, and other assorted gear. She had felt prepared until Draco appeared at her flat. She looked down at herself, feeling a little worried about being judged inadequate.

Wait. What? Hermione squared her shoulders with the realization it would be her boyfriend who would be judged absurd by anyone on the lake actually taking the time to look at them. Which probably wouldn't happen anyway.

Hermione made a quick plan that night after finishing dinner at her mum and dad's house. If they were really going to do this as just a day trip, then the best idea would be to apparate into a spot in the woods surrounding the lake, emerging out on the lake from a walking trail, pretending to hiked in. Hermione's dad had invested in a collapsible, tent-like shelter a few years back - it was infinitely better than his old wooden shed which needed to be hauled in on a sled. Now it really would be possible to hike in, carrying everything on their backs. A pile of items sat waiting to put in Draco's new backpack and then they could be on their way.

"Draco, you have six days' worth of dehydrated food in your backpack."

"No, I have three days' worth of food for two people. I wouldn't leave you without food."

"This is the biggest first-aid kit I have ever seen."

"I know! Isn't it great?"

"Bigger isn't always better."

"I remember you singing a different tune last night."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him as she unpacked his backpack and then repacked it, leaving about half of the crap it contained on the floor.

"You don't have any water in here, where is your water?"

He unzipped more than one of the multiple Gortex, fleece, moisture-wicking cotton, who-knows-why-he-needs-so-many layers, to finally get to hidden platypus containers strapped against his body. There was water, and there was firewhiskey too, judging by the color of one of them.

"The man who helped me warned me about liquids freezing easily at low temperatures. My body heat will make sure they don't turn to ice."

"Firewhiskey might go well with the thermos of hot chocolate I packed," she diplomatically said.

After that, Hermione kept her mouth shut while she shifted items around and finished packing what Draco would carry. Better to just get on the proverbial road.

The apparition idea worked perfectly; they landed just far enough away from the lake so the sound of their arrival wouldn't be noticed and no one would accidentally spot them using magic. They walked on the trail for less than five minutes before coming out of the trees at the edge of the lake. There were three other shacks on the lake, but it was large enough for everyone to spread out. Hermione didn't know if any of them were her dad's friends, back to try their luck for another weekend. She did not plan on finding out.

She and Draco walked to a spot far enough away from the others where they couldn't even hear them once they finished drilling their holes. While setting everything up, Draco complained about the manual labor. While drilling the holes, he complained he was too hot. And as soon as 10 minutes went by without any fish taking a nibble at their bait, he complained of boredom. At least he hadn't started to complain about being cold.

"Tell me again what the point of this is?"

"The satisfaction of obtaining your own food. The thrill of the hunt. Practicing patience. Communing with nature. Just hanging out with your friends."

"I have the means to obtain food that doesn't entail sitting on ice. There is nothing thrilling about this, nor are we really hunting. Patience isn't something I need to practice. I am not a hippy. However, I do like to hang out with you."

"We are doing something ancient in nature, Draco. We are practicing survival against the odds." Draco opened his mouth to say something, Hermione was pretty sure she could guess his line of thought, so she cut him off, pointing a finger at him, "No, don't try to tell me that you and I have plenty of practice surviving against the odds. That isn't what I mean, and you know it. I just want to be two people, enjoying the ability to sit and do something people were sitting doing ten thousand years ago. There aren't many opportunities in today's world to do this."

Draco thought about the little ways this witch in front of him wove pieces of herself into pieces of him without even knowing she was doing it. How she was slowly changing him at his core. Did she feel it? Was he slowly changing her, too? Was there still a defined place where he ended and she began? Could he take those pieces back out if he needed to? Did he even want to? Should he say these thoughts out loud? Did ice fishing require a certain type of tête-à-tête? Ever since he professed his love to her a few weeks ago, he found himself becoming a sap.

"Care for a shot of firewhiskey?" That seemed like an easier conversation.

"Want to try something a little more Muggle? I have beer or I have peppermint schnapps to mix with the hot chocolate."

"Why would we drink cold beer while sitting outside in the freezing cold?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know, it's what people do," she shrugged.

"Were people doing it ten thousand years ago?"

"Just answer the question, Draco."

"Sure, I'll have a beer."

And so, they drank beer and talked.

"…No, I don't think she waxes in the shape of a lightning bolt for Harry…"

"…The most Slytherin thing a friend has done? Besides me dating you? Definitely Pansy rescuing Richard from that awful orphanage. She took care producing a male Parkinson heir to stop her family name from dying out, and she circumvented her mother's match-making in one fell swoop… She is a surprisingly wonderful mum…"

Another beer opened.

"…The most Gryffindor thing I have done? Besides riding a dragon up out of the bank I was robbing? Starting my business when everyone expected me to take a ministry job. There was a time when Harry was the only one who stood by me. When everyone else was telling me I was squandering my fame on selfish pursuits rather than making changes for the betterment of other creatures, or that I should be using my skills gained during the war to work in the DMLE, Harry was the only one who asked me what my long game was. It was so hard to keep on being doubted, after so many years of being disbelieved. To choose the road less travelled once again…"

The second beer was finished quickly.

"…Theo had a crush on you for years. Ever since you two swots were partnered up in both Arithmancy and Runes during fifth year. He had a plan worked out to finally ask you out on the day you both took your apparition tests in sixth year. He didn't count on Ron taking the test that same day and he chickened out…"

A third beer.

"…Ugh, let's not talk about Divination…"

"…I have an autographed Chocolate Frog card of you hidden in my desk. I bought it off of some bloke in Diagon Alley… How do you know it's a fake if you haven't even seen it?... Well, then I will be the first person to ever have you sign one..."

"…Yes, I have kissed a girl and no, I am not telling you who. It wasn't even very good…"

"I think I have a bite!" Draco cut Hermione off. It was probably the only thing able to stop him from exploring that conversation further.

When they pulled up the line from the ice, there was a tiny fish on the hook. "You have to let me keep it, it's the first one I ever caught," Draco declared imperiously.

"No, there are rules about what size you are allowed to keep," Hermione was exacerbated.

"Please…" he whinged. "You can't deny me my first kill. Can we take a picture?"

"Only if you want to be laughed at."

"Hey, it isn't moving. Should it be moving?" Draco asked with some concern.

"Great, we argued about it long enough with the fish out of the water that we killed it. Well, I guess we can use it as bait and hope for a bigger fish," Hermione offered. Draco still took a picture of it before he allowed her to lower it back down.

"I'm getting kind of cold. Can we stop being martyrs and go inside that tent thingy and have some hot chocolate now?" Draco asked.

Hermione turned on the little heater inside the shelter. She really wished she could have put an extension charm onto the tent, but there hadn't been the time. She picked up the tent yesterday, they were using it today, and she planned to return it tomorrow, so putting one on only to have to take it right back off seemed like too much work when there was plenty more to do with getting ready. She could see Draco looking around with a touch of disdain.

Hermione thought it was cozy and they had everything they would need for the next couple of hours. They brought their two chairs in from outside and Hermione opened a small collapsible tripod table. There were hooks on the walls so they could hang up some items. She took off her outermost coat. She glanced out the window to make sure it was easy to see their outdoor tip ups. She had two holes in the corners in here too; she quickly baited the lines now that they would be spending time inside.

Hermione pulled out the thermos of soup and the sandwiches she had packed along with the hot chocolate and the schnapps. She offered some of everything to Draco and he happily started to eat. He took a sip of the drink and paused, exploring the unknown flavor.

"This isn't bad, but it reminds me a bit of toothpaste with the mint taste. And why would I want to swallow toothpaste? I'll have the next one with firewhiskey," Draco let her know as he lowered enough zippers to get at his hidden pouches. It was already getting warm enough inside that he didn't zip any back up. He also took off the outer coat and hung it up.

Draco was drinking his second hot chocolate, this one with the firewhiskey, when they started to talk about more than the mundane of "would you like another sandwich" and "please pass the soup" again. "So, about that witch you kissed…" he started out not at all subtly. Hermione threw her head back as she let out a loud laugh.

"I should have just lied and said no. Is this a fantasy of yours?"

"Possibly," he hedged.

"Have you ever seen two women kissing?"

"Possibly," he answered slowly.

"Have you seen two women do more than kiss?"

"Possibly," he offered up a third time.

"Were you involved in the "more than" part of that interaction?"

"Quite possibly," he affirmed.

Hermione licked her lips. She may not have really enjoyed kissing Ginny very much, but it probably had to do with their lack of experience in kissing more than anything else. Which is exactly why they decided to kiss in the first place, to practice on each other before they started kissing boys. But now, the thought of kissing Ginny with Draco watching, well, the thought was a bit of a turn on.

Did Hermione realize her lips were parted and she was breathing a little bit faster as she stared at him? Draco stared at her pink cheeks and didn't think the sudden change in color had anything to do with the amount of alcohol they'd drank. Although, it was definitely loosening Hermione up. They were delving into uncharted territory here.

"Did you enjoy it?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Very much, but my girlfriend wasn't good at sharing, so it was just the once," he said, his voice taking on a husky quality.

That gave Hermione pause. Would she be good at sharing? She would never say it out loud to anyone, but she'd fantasized about being in bed together with two different Weasley men over the years. The realities of jealousy never factored into those daydreams. How would the dynamics of a threesome work if it happened more than once?

Draco could practically see the wheels turning in Hermione's head. Where was she going off to inside of there? Only one way to find out, "What are you thinking?"

"As much as I might enjoy you watching me kiss another woman, I think I would have trouble with the jealousy, too, if we were all together in a threesome," as it came out, she realized she had said more than she meant to. And from the way Draco's eyebrows immediately shot up, he knew it too.

Now her cheeks were definitely pink. He couldn't help but smirk at her as he innocently queried, "You want me to watch you with another woman?" She pursed her lips and shook her head no. "Do you just want me to watch you do something?" She grabbed his firewhiskey and took a large gulp as she shook her head in the negative again. She cocked her head to the side, silently waiting for him to continue with his guessing. "Do you want someone to watch us?"

She opened her mouth, like she was going to answer, but then snapped it shut again. Her face was red and the blush was spreading downwards along her neck to disappear beneath her shirt. He figured he was close enough to the truth. He took a big swig of his firewhiskey before he stood up and grabbed her hand to pull her up to him. His erection wasn't evident through the four layers covering it, but he could feel it pulsing. Judging by her dilated pupils, she was feeling as turned on as him by this conversation.

He pulled her body tight against his, cursing the amount of clothing they were both wearing as he kissed her soundly. He could taste the firewhiskey on her lips with a hint of chocolate left behind as he delved further into her mouth with his tongue. He moaned at the delicious taste. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her fingers from one hand were alternating between gently dragging the nails along the base of his skull and lightly tugging on his hair. She groaned when he managed to untuck enough top layers to find some skin.

Suddenly, he whipped her around so her back was pressed against his front. He leaned down to put his lips behind the shell of her ear, "Look out that window. The people in the next shelter aren't too far away. Think I could make you scream loud enough so they would hear? Would you make me stop when they started running this way?" As he murmured these questions to her, one hand snaked up under her shirt and along her stomach until he cupped a breast. The other hand managed to get down into her pants to start rubbing at her.

"Uuuggghhhh…" Hermione strangled out, knowing Draco could now feel her arousal as his fingers circled around her wet clit. He tried to move his hand more, to get his fingers inside of her, but the amount of clothing was restrictive. She pushed her arse back against the steel rod in his pants and he let out a moan.

"Do you want to get caught? Do you want someone to see us?" he let out a frustrated sound as he couldn't get the angle he wanted with his hand. "You better not be too loud unless you want someone to come barging in right as you are coming," he told her as he pulled his hand out of her pants and spun her around to face him once again. He started to work on getting her pants down with the intent to use his tongue to draw the letters of his name across her clit over and over until she yelled it out loud.

"Draco, you have a bite!"

"What, you want me to bite you?"

"No, you have bite from a fish, you twit!"

Hermione noticed a flag up when Draco spun her back around; they had both previously missed it due to their backs being turned. Draco quickly forgot what he planned for Hermione when her words made it through the fog of his lust and the alcohol. He rushed over to the hole and started to work on reeling in his catch.

The fish was putting up a fight. "It's much bigger than my first one!" he gleefully exclaimed.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

"No, I remember what you told me about the give and take. I can do this," he told her, just a hint of haughtiness in his voice.

Up through the ice came a huge brown trout. Eyeballing it, Hermione would guess it weighed 4 or even 4.5kg. Draco wore a look of awe on his face. Until Hermione said,

"It's a keeper! Get it off the hook and we'll lay it out on the ice until we're ready to go."

"You get it off the hook," Draco seemed nervous now. He was holding the line away from his body and eyeing the fish like it might attack him. Hermione laughed. Which was the wrong thing to do. Draco's nervousness was quickly covered by a nearly blank face with a small sneer and a cold tone, "This was your idea and if you want the fish off of the hook, you can bloody well do it."

Hermione watched the change come over his face as he reverted back into his safe persona. The one that had allowed him to survive for so many years. It was disconcerting for various reasons when he did it. The foremost in her mind was that she was sure he wasn't always consciously aware it happened. Next was the stark reminder of their childhoods. And then there was the niggling question of whether he would ever fully trust her with his emotions. Alone in a tent with his girlfriend and a fish and he was scared to been seen as scared. Admittedly, the trout did have teeth.

Hermione made the split second decision to go with some gentle goading to knock him out of it. "What kind of fish story am I going to tell my dad about you being scared of a trout?"

"Oh, Draco wanted to take it off, but it was too slimy."

"Well, I had to help Draco out because he didn't like the way the fish stared at him."

"'If you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth.'"

The last one was the one that did it. Alluding to his fear of being bitten by something that wasn't scary at all, something like a fluffy little bunny. His sneer turned into a smirk and he deftly grabbed the fish under its gills and slid the hook out. They walked outside, laid it near the door, and he looked at her with a triumphant grin on his face. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and it occurred to Hermione that this was the magical hour photographers loved. Draco glowed.

I posted a one-shot called Shared Thoughts you all might enjoy. I happen to think it's hilarious. Up next for this story is a date planned by Draco again. It is my favorite magical date of the entire story, so stay tuned! And please drop me a review!